


The Consultant

by JustBukharin



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: After Chapter 179, But there are pills, F/F, F/M, Gen, Good reasons, Just lots of sassy depression, M/M, Might have to upgrade the Rate for reasons, Multi, Not much blood, Original Character(s), There is a secret pairing, This is not a House M.D. Rip-off, and schizophrenia, but it is mostly sass at best, mixed with high-quality fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-06-02 05:11:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19434610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustBukharin/pseuds/JustBukharin
Summary: What happens when you mix up a simple Consultant to the post-Re Cast? Lots of drama, resolutions and quite the insane shenanigans.





	1. Prologue

**The terrible sense of tragedy that fills you of despair, the endless abyss swallowing your form without hesitation, the final step towards the ending of a pathetic life, the end of-**

_Okay, I am waking up! Can you not be this much skittish just once in your life?_

**Me, skittish? Are you sure you aren’t the one causing this? After all the situation isn’t as simple as you are painting it there-**

_J-Just shut up!_

My eyes opened widely as I stared at the familiar ceiling of my bedroom, the dark gray color perfect to keep my sight from grow dizzy every morning. The sun lights were the only thing I particularly disliked that I had yet to find a solution for but… it was alright.

Slowly I stared at the furniture by the bedside, several emptied medical boxes lying scattered on it together with a large glass bowl with several pills.

**It’s my artistic self coming to play, didn’t our therapist wanted us to ‘express ourselves’ years ago?**

_It was about learning to enjoy our dual creativity. I don’t see how ‘creativity’ fits in wasting medicines we- I need._

**Oh right, because I am just a silly voice in your head. But do go ahead, I will be more than happy to enjoy our talks late-**

It ceased instantly, the moment I popped some of the pills in my mouth. Gulping quickly, the medicines were immediately repressing the dazing effects that came from dealing with the uppity voice in my head.

I sighed, leaning back on the wall near the bed as I tried to reorganize my thoughts in a collected and harmonious manners and-

“ **Bzzzt!”**

I groaned, eyes glancing at the phone vibrating furiously on the ground near the furniture. Didn’t I left it on the bedside last night?

Another question that would have to wait just like the usual early morning thoughts as I recognized the name displayed on the small device.

Clicking on ‘Accept’ I was barraged by senseless words, furiously arranged by the one of the other side.

“Misaki-san, what is going on?” I asked with a sleepy tone. I let out a quick and quiet yawn to remove the last bits of tiredness out of my voice as the woman on the other side recomposed her previous gibberish.

“Satoshi-hakase! We- Haruse-san has left the building for an emergency and- there are still patients-”

My eyes were now wide open. Why did that old fool left work without much more notice?! Why today of all possible days!

I sighed tiredly, failing to find any reason to keep calm. “Misaki, calm down.”

The secretary was now descending in a panic rant and I coughed loudly, showing more strength in my voice. “Misaki, I will be there in fifteen minutes. Tell the patients to wait just a little more and I will be there to take their cases.”

At first there was a stunned silence, but I was already putting on my pants when the meek voice of the lady replied. “H-Hai, Satoshi-hasake.”

I flinched as the call ended, finishing to button up my shirt. I picked up my phone, dropping it inside one of my pants’ pockets. I stopped right by the flat’s door for right as I remembered an important detail about the medicals.

Stress reduced the effects and…

Without thinking too much about it, I popped in another pill before slamming the door behind me. Of all times, the old fool had to ditch job for ‘family issues’.

An ongoing divorce case against him for getting caught cheating on his wife and some minor issues with the TPD were far from a legitimate ‘emergency’, especially with the massive influx of people seeking help to recover from the still lasting tragedy that had happened just five years ago.

The Dragon War, an insanity of events that barely resembled a War and more of a childish villain’s plan that not only failed but caused quite the stressing experience for the inhabitants of the capital.

Blood was spilled, a rampant epidemic of ROS decimating almost a quarter of the citizens and the so-called ‘Dragon Orphans’ still causing issues once in a while.

Sure, the crime rate and the Ghoul attacks had decreased to single digits percentages, but the cost to allow this change? Too many lives had been lost and frankly, the situation back before the War wasn’t that horrible.

I mean, getting mugged or eaten are still scary thoughts, but the same happened in other major cities in the world. Well, minus getting eaten.

I was still recovering from a very ‘personal’ situation back then but I could easily remember the giant monster of gore trying to devour the former headquarters of the CCG and the following massacres on the streets caused by Furuta Nimura.

The name was taboo even nowadays, a painful reminder of the mad man that spearheaded the disaster of the Dragon War. The crimes of the Washuu bringing some earthquakes in the National Diet and, surprising many at the time, several former members were found guilty of having accepted bribes from the influential family to keep quiet over certain meddling with the Japanese laws.

The Tokyo Security Committee was formed by the ashes of the CCG just few weeks after the end of the tragic events. At first a joke compared to the previous organization, the TSC was able to quickly rise above from its initial state by having many important individuals that once worked for the CCG.

Individuals that had fought and bleed to make sure that Tokyo would survive against some unfair odds. Gratitude was a must, especially since many of those were paid less than back in the CCG.

The government was still unwilling to trust the group, some were even sprouting about ‘a rip-off CCG under a benevolent mask’ and part of the people were eager to further aliment the rumor mills.

My thoughts ceased the moment I reached for the entrance of my workplace. The building had once been owned by Akihito Kanou, the man responsible for creating the dangerous variant of the ROC that had targeted the city without discrimination and it had been sold to some investor to build a Medical Consultation Institute.

An interesting venture that quickly paid off, as many individuals were actively seeking medical help in overcoming the traumatic experiences causing either by the illness that threatened to turn them in mindless monsters or because of the near-death experiences caused by the Furuta and his Clowns.

“Satoshi-hasake! Thank God you are here.” I sighed as I nodded at the panicking Misaki. The woman was fairly young, just few years older than me, but still kept some of the shy personality that was usually common in school girls.

“Misaki-san, you said that we had some clients-” She nodded and speedily led me right by my office.

“I let them get inside and wait there- I said that you were coming, sir-”

“Good.” I muttered as I adjusted the collar of my jacket. “Take a five minutes break, Misaki. Get refreshed, get some coffee or merely sit somewhere to rest.”

“S-Sir?” I groaned inwardly at her hesitancy.

“Haruse pulled a terrible move and I think you should take some moments to recover.” I turned around just to glance at her as I went to open the door. “Five minutes, nothing more.”

She nodded slowly but thankful as I entered my office to find myself thrown in the middle of a chaotic shouting contest.

The yelling ceased right as I walked slowly towards the young couple and I got a good look over their appearances and expressions.

The young man had short, black hair with a bluish undertone. Piercing dark-blue eyes were giving quite the chilling emotion at glancing as he was still conveying his current state of anger.

The lady had shoulder-length, brown hair. Her eyes were much more expressive, giving some sadness with the overall fury she was directing at her boyfriend.

My deduction over their relationship was the lack of rings, but I could as well having been given the wrong impression and I was dealing with a serious case of a marriage breaking apart.

...What a good thing to start the day, ain’t it?

“Good morning.” I greeted them with a simple bow. “I am Doctor Satoshi Haruno and I will be the Consultant for this session.”

“Shouldn’t it be Doctor Harase?” The woman asked with some confusion and I sighed tiredly as I sat on my chair.

“Harase-san decided that it was a nice thing to ditch today’s work because of his impending legal issues.” I clapped my hands together. “So I will take this case from his hands and replace him in this session.”

They both nodded at the explanation and I started to give a look at the documents given by both individuals.

“Fueguchi… Hinami. And Kirishima Ayato?” They were not married.

Another pair of nods and I blinked at them. “I would generally ask for the reason behind this session but I have just some ideas why you are both here… if I may.”

“Sure/Of course not.” They both stared at each other, glaring viciously as I sighed at the bellicose predicament I was going to deal with.

“Then I will refrain myself from suggesting the case, since one of you is not agreeing to this and I prefer to keep this civil.”

I paused, letting my words sink in as they seemed surprise at me backing down with my initial proposal. “I hope you understand that this is a session to try and solve whatever issue is causing the dissonance between you two. This isn’t a boxing ring and I hope you will all agree that shouting is not required, we are all in range to speak normally.”

The woman, Hinami, blushed a little in embarrassment while the man, Ayato, nodded calmly at my assessment.

“Then I will use a little trick to pick the first one to talk and express their opinions.” I took out two empty papers from one of the drawers and passed them to the two individuals with a pair of pens.

“I want you to write down a number from 1 to 9 and the number that is the closest to my birthday will be the one that start first.”

“What?” Ayato asked loudly, frowning at the confusing question.

“Most of the time it would be 1 to 10 and maybe something like ‘the number I like the most’ or ‘the highest number’ but I think those are all faulty one way or another.” I gestured them to the papers. “Please do the task quickly so we can start the session properly.”

After some confusion-induced doubt, the two scribbled down some numbers and passed the papers back to me.

I stared at the two different answers and had to frown at one in particular.

“Hinami-san wrote down a 7. Ayato-san wrote down a 4.” I stared up from the numbers and shrugged. “Ayato-san, you got my birthday right.”

...”Eh?” Sighing at their shocked expressions, I showed to them my ID card and the birthday written there.

“Ayato-san will start first. Then Hinami-san.” After confirming my choice, I leaned on my chair as the young man started to tell his story.

“I-It’s been few years since me and Hinami had decided to live together. We got engaged just two years ago and we have been dating quite rarely because of my job at the TSC and...” He paused just a moment, taking some breath in and letting it out. “We have been having trouble about… going a step further.”

“You mean a step further in the relationship, like marriage or-”

“He is unwilling to engage in couple activities. ‘That’ kind of activities.”

… “Oh.” I blinked as the man was now flushing at the mortifying interruption from the pouting brunette. The lady was blushing too but she seemed too much angered to take under consideration the language used to define the context.

“E-Erm- I thought that this was meant to be a relationship issue-”

“It is!” The girl said loudly, freezing up as she realized that the outburst had been… relatively too loud. “I-I mean, I think that a relationship is meant to have some… intimate moments once in a while-”

“But it is still too early, Hina-chan.” Ayato butted in. “We have been having too little time to explore the possibility, especially with work and-”

“I-I still want to go forward a-and.” She sighed, sniffing just a little as I knew that the worst was indeed happening. “I-I just want to love you more- b-but you say no a-and.”

“And you feel unsatisfied with the lack of contact.” My comment brought their attentions back at me, reminding them that I was still there in the room. “I know it might sound personal, but what kind of work do you have Hinami-san?”

She blinked, sniffing again as I had managed to stop the dam from fully flooding. “I- I am a teacher for the United Front.”

“So you work closely with children and… you like your job?” The woman nodded slowly at the question. “Then I think I have actually a clear sight of the real issue.”

I stared at them with a serious look, a grave sigh leaving my lips…

“You are both wrong.”

…

“What are you talking about?” Ayato once more intervened and I blinked.

“You think that Hinami-san is rushing with the steps and, while this is partly true, you are also working for the TSC. Whatever is your job, you are still going to be away from home for long shifts and… that is why you have the right to ask for at least a week-long pause every month.”

“B-But he is-” “The Japanese Law is clear, whatever work you are doing, you are entitled to at least the chance of resting a part of every single month. Have you taken some pauses ever since you starting to work for the TSC?”

Ayato froze, his face paling as he realized that he had never taken a day from his job. “I-I didn’t.”

“Then you should. Use it to either rest a little and spend it with Hinami-san.”

Now I was looking at the young woman and she looked curious at what I was planning to say.

How cute.

“Hinami-san, you are feeling stressed by the fact that you wish to have a healthy relationship and Ayato-san’s ill-thinking led to this situation where you are finding your job the only thing that gives you the most satisfaction. Sometimes it happens that female teachers grows motherly instincts while dealing with children and that means that you seek to properly reach… that point.”

I was blushing a storm as this was the first time in my career that I had to explain this to someone.

Ugh, why today of all times?!

“So that means-”

“While making steps forward at a good pace is a rightful thought, you should also consider the fact that your boyfriend is also unable to fully explore that idea because of the work he has to deal with. Spend some time with him and then, if you wish to proceed with this notion, you could ask him with a clearer mind.”

“That sounds… good.” Ayato looked at Hinami with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry for yelling, Hina-chan.”

“N-No.” She blushed at the apology. “I-I should have been thinking this properly and-”

“You both love each other and you will deal with this back at home.” I stated while looking at the clock. “The session’s time is over.”

“What if we needed more help?” The man asked with a hint of curiosity in his calm tone.

“Then you may request another session, this time with Dr. Harase if he is available. If not, then you will be given one of the other free consultants in the clinic.”

“O-Oh.” Hinami blinked in surprise at this explanation. “Then I guess we will go.” She turned at her boyfriend. “Right?”

For some reasons Ayato frowned at his girlfriend. “Right..”

Few moments later, the two had left the office quietly and leaving me alone to deal with the paperwork of my following cases-

“Satoshi-hasake! Otzuki-sama said that you will have to take the clients that were meant for Harase-san today-”

**Thud**

“Satoshi-hasake!” She rushed by my side but I was already unconscious.

I was seriously hating Mondays today and today was Tuesday.


	2. Chapter 2

**(** **Hatred of Self** **)**

**** La, la, dumb prick  
let me fucking out!  
La, la, la, la, la, let me fucking out!

_ Seriously, singing? And it’s… four in the morning?  _

** You need to be ready to face strange situations and waking up in the morning is a good way to be prepared for the worst of situations. **

_ ...And that is? _

** Why, of course sleep. **

… _I hate you so much._

** Love you too, hun. Now you better get yourself ready to deal with another glorious day and- **

The voice shattered like glass the moment a good amount of pills was thrown in my mouth, my throat gulping down the content out of habit.

And yet what was said until now wasn’t totally wrong, but also not true at all.

Once in a while I would get some nightmares, memories of particular situations deep in my psyche that would remind me the reason I was so eager to continue my consulting job.

I  **needed** to help people, or I would never find freedom.

Still it was far too early to rush to the bathroom and deal with my usual morning routine, so I decided to waste some time doing something I had skipped so many times.

I remember buying this cereals, but I was fairly sure it was a period between two to three months ago. The light brown color attributed to the small flakes its box was portraying hardly represented the moldy stains riddling the cup of milk I had prepared for the occasion.

Of course I wasn’t going to eat it, but I stared at the darkening liquid with growing sadness.

Just yesterday the TV news had reported a sudden increase of the milk’s price and… I needed that once in a while to keep me up with some coffee.

Another loss before the failing mind of mine and I was still convinced that I could be redeemed memory-wise.

Dropping the content of the cup on the sink, I quickly cleaned the container with some water and special soap. It was in that moment I did remember that I still was subscribed to the Tokyo Tribune and, if I remember correctly, the newspaper I was entitled to had to have been delivered around this time.

I glanced at the clock.  **4:36**

Yep. I walked barefooted across the living room and into the front door, opening just a little to pick the newspaper that had been indeed placed carefully on my doormat.

I crouched to pick it and- “Oh, if it isn’t Haru-kun.”

My lips twitched at the honorific, recognizing the kind, elderly voice of the old lady living across my flat. She was particularly wealthy because of her booming activity she had owned in the 20 th Ward that she had relinquished right before the Dragon War.

A florist, she had politely explained and I could see it be a strong possibility because of how nature-driven the Nerima Ward had been until quite recently, the rebuilding effort having shifted the entire zone’s focus on electronics.

Some experts interviewed on the TV were eager to state that this was possibly a process similar to the one that made Akihabara one of the most influential inter-wards area of the capital. At least life was restarting well there, but I was pretty comfortable with my simple flat in the 2nd Ward.

“Suisen-san, good morning.”

She returned the nod I gave her and she smiled warmly. “I heard that you have finally got a promotion, Haru-kun. Congratulations.”

I nodded again. “Thank you.” I decided to not prolong more what was a common predicament nowadays.

You do well for a long period of time and, if your boss is serious with his activity, you will get promoted with a better wage.

Still this news was far from fresh, being that this promotion had been given just last month and… for unique reasons.

While I had been showing capacity and skill in dealing with my cases, the motivation that my boss had given out with blunt honesty was ‘X-san has left for X reasons and you are the best replacement’.

It was right in that moment that I had been comfortably reminded that it takes so little for something that was meant to be taken as an accomplishment to be turned into a dull emotion.

I wasn’t promoted. I was filling the post.

The reason why both situations were different was pretty simple: If a senior expert of the subject was to ask for a job, I was quite sure that I would easily get ‘demoted’ for some dumb reason.

But while I was quite sour of how temporary my step forward was, I was glad that I could enjoy a minor monetary boost compared to the infuriatingly low checks I had to survive with until a month ago.

“I have also heard about a young lass working close to you, Haru-kun.”

I groaned tiredly, trying so hard to not facepalm at the umpteenth attempt of the woman to meddle with my ‘love life’. The reason why it was accentuated is because there isn’t any love life of mine, it was mostly a nominal concept with no substance whatsoever and I…  **sigh** I wasn’t interested of getting a family going.

It wasn’t because I wasn’t feeling it, nor because I was skeptical of my capacity to be a good husband and father. It was the easiest issue that many individuals my age were dealing with after so many things had changed in this world: Money.

I was hardly making enough to survive myself in a simple flat, I dreaded what would happen if I suddenly had to deal with a small family to nourish, to care for and to have them safe and healthy.

A painful reality, but crying on the spilled milk hardly changed the situation and I had long decided to roll with my easy plan: Survive, get a better job, then think about dating.

A foolproof plan that had been formed out from the hardships of the two years spent oversea. With Tokyo’s universities unable to properly give degrees to students, some like me had been able to gain some place in America and… it was weird.

Different places, different people, but still the same attitude for teachers.

The experience had been quite gratifying generally speaking, but I was always missing Tokyo in that period, even the moments I was enjoying myself in the natural green parks around the campus I had been assigned to.

“I suppose you mean Misaki-san? Then I am saddened to say that she is happily engaged.” The answer deflated the old lady, but I knew her well enough to know that this was a mere step back for her never-ending effort to try and get me parried with someone. 

“Aww. I guess then you are quite unlucky in love, Haru-kun.” She was genuine and that was kind of cringey as I was seriously trying to focus onto my work than thinking about dating and…

“Anyway, I heard that you got some delicious apple pie prepared for the coming festival, Suisen-san.”

“I thought that I had asked you to call me Suisen-haha, Haru-kun.” She deflected momentarily with a small smile. “But yes, I have an old recipe from my dear grandmother’s cooking book and many says that it’s quite good.”

“I bet it will be delightful to taste. Just like any of your other ‘works’.” She giggled at my compliment.

“Oh, you silly flatterer. I suppose that I will have to keep some slices just for you then.”

“I would be happy if you did.” I nodded. “I hope you have a good day then, Suisen-san.”

She smiled and nodded as I closed the door behind me. 

I stared distractedly at the newspaper as my eyes scanned for something new from the usual things that had been told and retold about this week.

The festival in the 20th Ward was still going to happen and it was meant to represent once more the unity between humans and Ghouls after the first effort thrown by the United Front.

The UF was a sister-organization to the TSC that was meant to be the PR’s face of the group. It had established already three orphanages/schools for orphaned Ghouls and was enjoying a relatively positive judgment from the people of the Japanese capital.

It was also quite limited to Tokyo itself, even after having officially formed three years ago and… it was mostly the lack of thrust of the government striking again, trying to find ill in a good-willed investment.

I wonder if Ghouls could seriously be trusted-

I flinched and felt losing my footing as I forced myself to stay up thanks to the table in front of me.

_ O-Okay. Let’s not remember about  **that** . _

_** The cold and blissful wind was keeping my skin itching as the fingers of the attacker pressed further on my neck. ** _

_** I was struggling but failing to shake off the unknown man as I continued to cry, I was choking and soon I felt his fingernails piercing my neck. I gasped, a failed yell as I tried to push him off once more. ** _

_** The only thing that I managed to get was partially removing his bird-like mask. The pair of kakugans gave a surprise glint before returning to show the same need of murder that was coaxed within the Ghoul’s actions. ** _

I remember waking up with a minor amnesia, the paramedics doing their best to keep me alive as they got me back to the ambulance.

I survived, but I felt like I had lost something important that night.

Asking about it to the doctors assigned to me knew little about my situation and were mostly interested in helping me back to health.

Nothing wrong with the concerned approach for my recovery, but the bitter taste of missing something crucial perfectly balanced out the happiness of being taken care for.

That was… eight years ago? Maybe nine, I kind of buried it all for… reasons.

I had no reason to further delve in the traumatic experience, especially with my condition appearing to be quite over-bearing about it to truly study the case with some peace.

Even medicines tended to fail to keep it from further aggravating my attention span over any chance of getting to know more about… something.

Why did it sound so important though? It was like a finger poking really hard my brain every time I tried to think about it and…

I blinked as I noticed the sudden increase of light in the room and I glanced at my watch.

** 5:47 **

“Oh.” I stated to no one in particular, voicing my surprise at learning that I had spent a full hour doing… some thinking.

The newspaper was left on the table and was going to not be read for another good 12 hours if I decided to get to work early even today.

It has been two days since I had to deal with Harase’s messy job dodging and things had been relatively peaceful at work considering that the boss had been able to split the cases evenly with the other consultants.

It was few more files than usual with the same pay but… it wasn’t horribly burdening my lifestyle.

Without further thinking, I closed the door of the bathroom behind me, ready to get ready for another normal day at work.

* * *

The feeling in the room was particularly tense and I was completely unaware as of why.

Sitting on the other side of the desk were a man and a… another man? 

I glanced down once more at their names and finally repeated them out loud.

“Urie Kuki...”

The black-haired man nodded curtly, not a single emotion visible on his blank mask as he continued to stare silently my direction. A very creepy sight but… I wasn’t going to judge someone simply because their faces screamed about ‘murder’ and ‘murder’.

Did I forget ‘murder’?

“And… Mutsuki Tooru.”

Pale white hair, tanned skin and a simple eyepatch, the individual that was called as such nodded quite slowly.

“Y-Yes.” She replied, her voice a tad bit feminine and I could recognize that I was speaking with a woman now as I could now connect her tone with her overall appearance.

If she had been a man, I would have been seriously questioning why I found a very pretty man that much attractive but… I decided to skip ahead to avoid embarrassing thoughts mid-work.

One of her hands was cautiously caressing her arms, she was squirming in this situation and I was seriously clueless as of why.

“Is… everything alright, Mutsuki-san?”

Her eye snapped in surprise at my question and she smiled sadly. “J-Just… not feeling like wasting everyone’s time for something this silly.”

Urie glanced at her and blinked, showing some… worry?

“I hardly think that there is such a thing as ‘wasting time for people’ but please, do explain.”

I ignored the confused glare from the young man and focused on the short-haired woman. 

She seemed surprised at first, then she sighed. “It’s just… I don’t see the need of doing this? I don’t need to talk to anyone and-”

“Saiko wants you to do this.” Urie finally butted in. “Even Hai- _Kaneki_ -san said that you would enjoy talking about it.”

“And I am free to choose if or not do this, am I?” She sounded quite irked at those names, or maybe it was the context said names were brought in.

Generally, using names to further legitimate a point was a 50/50 strategy and the payoff was hardly worth the risks of failing.

So I merely clapped my hands together, bringing their attention back at me. “Then I guess this session is over.”

… “W-What?” Mutsuki asked, utter confusion plastered on her face as her friend merely stared back at me with barely veiled anger.

“You said that you don’t want to continue with this session and I cannot force a client to do something they don’t want to.”

“But the money-” “Will be refunded as it was hardly ten minutes and we have other serious cases to deal with.”

The indirect jab was mostly perceived by Urie, but I continued to keep myself from staring at him as I continued to poke around this predicament and-

“W-Wait, I never said- I mean.” She sighed nervously. “I mean, I never said that I didn’t want to continue. It’s just that I don’t want to be forced into dealing with this...” Again. That was the word she was knowingly omitting from her reasoning and… it was quite concerning.

“Urie-san, I notice that Mutsuki-san is missing her medical documents. May I inquire why there is none here?”

He shifted nervously, for the first time showing some embarrassment but it was Mutsuki that answered.

“I-It is about a certain condition of mine. I… I am not well and-” She paused, playing a little with a lock of her white hair.

Those weren’t natural… right? There was no scientific way that could back up that those were caused naturally.

White hair was the final stage of graying and it was mostly encountered in elder people because it was the result of the growing strain of stress over a lifetime.

Pain, tiredness, several moments of period along one’s life and medical meddling.

“Then I suppose we could talk about...” I stared down at the desk, noticing an old magazine about flowers that Suisen-san had given me few months ago. “Flowers.”

“Uh?” The surprised tone fully represented the state of mind of both as they were not expecting this kind of topic.

“Let’s see...” I picked up the magazine and started to browse through its pages. “Did you know that gardening is a good way to spend time?”

“Yes, but why are we talking about… this?” I blinked at Urie’s snappish tone and sighed quietly.

“That is because I wouldn’t be able to help much, Mutsuki-san.” I turned to look at her. “As she had been lying until now.”

She tensed up at that statement, looking surprised and… impressed. 

“Satoshi-san, this is utterly ridiculous-” “But unquestionably true.” I interjected keeping my eyes on the woman.

“While your actions might be confused as honest to someone like Urie-san, I am saddened to say that I know when someone is faking behind this kind of nervous.”

She blinked. “H-how did you come to this conclusion?”

“Well, I have been a nervous person most of my life and… your movements seem quite mechanic, an act to defend yourself from a verbal confrontation and, with all due respect, I am not going to waste ‘your’ time by uselessly poke for information.”

She cracked a smile, a small but genuine one. It was also quite sad too. “Then why prolonging this pointless session if you knew I was faking.”

I returned with a smile of mines, a fake one too. “That is because I am honest in my advice. Gardening will surely help you and… I did see some interest at the magazine I brought attention into.”

“But what if I was faking that too?” A good question, but one I knew the answer of.

“Then you wouldn’t have reacted more than usual about the topic. You can’t fake a genuine interest for something, Mutsuki-san.”

“Then she had been… trying to use her act to avoid certain questions?” 

“Indeed.” I replied to Urie. “She knows that people hardly pressured too much shy individuals but she failed to understand a very simple thing.”

“And that is, Satoshi-san?” Mutsuki asked quickly, some challenge hidden in her quip and I smiled a bit more.

What an interesting individual.

“I am not a therapist.” I explained calmly. “I am not someone that use books to decipher people, nor I show pity for liars when they are caught in the act.”

She flinched a brief moment but I continued. 

“As a consultant, my duty is to advise and help from what my clients can say about their problems. Since this isn’t possible for… reasons-” She nodded at the excuse given and I took it as a reason to finish my explanation. “- I will not delve too much into a fruitless endeavor and merely suggest you to get yourself a garden. Or another calm hobby to balance out whatever trauma you suffered.”

At the word ‘trauma’, Mutsuki tensed again and Urie looked shocked at my deduction.

“You are being incredibly methodical and I hardly think it is something from learned from your work. It’s too natural, you seem to have ditched part of your humanity to be this kind of drone-like with your behavior and… I hope you have good people other than Urie-san to speak about whatever troubles you.”

The woman blinked. “That is… a kind thought.”

“It’s not kindness if it is true, Mutsukie-san.” I stopped and glanced at my watch. “And the session is now genuinely over.”

Urie stared at his own watch and nodded. “It has been an hour but-” “Give her a hobby, some free time and let her vent by doing something relaxing.”

“This sounds like-” “Thank you.” We both stared at the woman, now standing and bowing slightly in my direction. “I will take your advice with proper seriousness and try out gardening.”

Few minutes later and several confused looks from the man looking back and forth between me and Mutsuki, I was once more alone in my office as I enjoyed a brief pause before the next case.

** Now that was a fun lady. Did you see that eyepatch? Do you think she is a pirate queen- **

Never downed a pill so quickly and I stopped a moment to contemplate a check-up from my medic and see to get something stronger.

It would seem like I was getting bothered nowadays… **but why?**


	3. Precocious

**(** **Precocious** **)**

I blinked awake, the light blue sky up above quite different from the usual ceiling of my room.

No snickering, no mocking and no voice.

The only sounds that reached my ears were the cheerful sounds of children playing in the near, local playground and the chirping of birds flying around without a care of the world.

I suppose I should explain why this time I am not in my flat even though it is clearly too early in the morning for me to be out. 

I went to sleep quite earlier than usual, an attempt of getting some much needed rest after waking up so early because of that infuriating inner voice, today being a priority since it was Sunday.

Why are Sundays special? Well, the shift at work was the shortest of the whole week as it started from the end of lunch and reached until the hours of dinner. Now I know that it sounds dumb to try and fight a losing battle with something that is not here to start with but… I needed to sleep.

I almost snapped as the doctor I had visited yesterday denied the fact the pills weren’t enough anymore, several tests proving him right too.

And yet I could hear him far too frequently for this to be a normal situation. Something had changed, something that was worsening my mental health.

But what could it be? I am quite sure I had hardly bought anything new that could spark this kind of reaction.

Someone I met? Hardly, I knew every individuals from my mostly forgotten past and they never had the chance of getting a visit to the Clinic.

So what was it?

I sighed, the question a fleeting whisper in the wind as I started to think what I should do now that I was awake.

It was still early and frankly I didn’t want to continue my quiet read from the book I had brought with me. 

While a pleasant text, my mind was hardly in shape for another hour of quick reading from the ‘Discourse on the Method’.

While Descartes’ thinking was relatively obsolete compared to those who followed the never-ending path of the exploration of nature, it was still something that rekindled the will of truly expanding upon myself.

A kick in the butt, if I had to be a little crass.

Feeling the stress finally catching up, my body relaxed once more as I tried to find some relieve in that painfully sturdy bench I was trying to sleep on. At first I had been unsure that I would have found a comfortable position in this circumstance but… I still tried and somehow succeeded.

I was still sure that this was going to end up with some back pain by the time I would have to get up, but I was more than glad to deal with that kind of trouble.

The trouble that one can seriously find a solution by logical means, not something that enjoyed eluding any rational answer to it.

Darkness took me and my weary mind decided to spare me the dreadful trip to my usual nightmares, another reasons as of why I loved the pills.

They kept you relaxed and, if taken with unrestricted caution, they can keep you also a little bit clear-minded.

Overdose was a fear I had always had, the possibility of having my mind going haywire because I could cave in to the constant desire of permanently silencing that voice…

I couldn’t even think about it without getting nervous.

Yet in that pitch black nothing I felt something tugging at me.

It wasn’t the kind of tug a memory, dream or nightmare would represent, no.

It was… closer. 

I finally opened my eyes again and I found my sleeve being softly tugged by a little child.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to catch her appearance as clearly as possible.

Short, she had to be very young and… her hair color was peculiar.

While the style was quite common, the same couldn’t be said about her pinkish brown coloration and…

Wait no, I think the right denomination is ‘salmon’. Yes, it fitted the bill and…

What a curious neutral scowl in her face. Her mouth was compressed into a thin-line, not an attempt to appear bored but one that showed a very dull facial style.

I blinked once, then twice.

The child merely stared, tilting her head just a little bit as she waited for… something.

I blinked again, this time letting just a little bit of confusion take form in my frown.

“Can I… help you?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

…

After her curt answer, she didn’t say anything else. 

Now this was getting… weird. “And that is?”

While her face continued to appear blank, I could see a semblance of curiosity blink briefly from her eyes as she turned to look at what was carefully sitting on my chest.

The book. She finally spoke. “What is it about?”

I found myself groaning inside as I knew that this was the subtle beginning of a headache.

While it wasn’t that much uncommon to find children sharing this kind of initial approach to something new, generally this would still end up in some whining to know more about things.

Children were curious, terribly so. Their curiosity was like a monster with a bottomless stomach, ready to devour every possible answer thrown at their questions.

But… what I should do about it? The query bounced back and forth in my brain but in the end the solution was… giving up my little freedom.

“That  book is about  P hilosophy.” Quick meets quick.

Finally her expression accentuated in something close to thoughtful, her eyes now seemingly drilling holes in the poor tome of knowledge. What was she trying to accomplish with that glare?

“What...” She paused, possibly trying to gain a brief moment to further study the cover of the book. “What is  P hilosophy?”

“Something boring.” The greatest deterrent for children: Boredom itself.

Say that it is difficult? They would take it as a slight and try to challenge the adult’s claim.

Say that it is not meant for someone their age? They will still take offense and try to rebuke.

Say that it is boring? Doubts will beset their little drive  and slowly they will start to back away from the mere thought of continuing down this path.

So of course I was expecting the kid to merely catch the hint and leave me to my delightful napping…

“Okay.”

...but I was quite surprised by her lack of backing away from the argument.

I blinked, computing the answer she had just given me. “What?”

“I said-” She said with a now more insistent tone. “-that I am okay with boring.”

“Is that so?” The little girl nodded and I found so much confusion at that unexpected development. “Can I ask you why?”

Her eyes turned away, staring at the calm ground. “I… I like to read boring stuff.” She deflated a little. “At least that is what the others say.”

It was a minor realization, one that was pretty easy to catch from that little depiction of the girl. 

She was on the road to become a bookworm? It was a good possibility.

I could easily shush her away now to avoid dealing with some lengthy explanations which, I will be honest, I wasn’t feeling ready to give on the spot.

And yet… I sighed. “Don’t you have your parents to be with?”

She hummed quietly. “Mom and Dad are at work, it was my big brother that is keeping an eye on us but… he is watching over the others.”

“And why not you?” The question was met with a brief smile and I found myself surprised at the sharp use of expression this young girl was showing.

This wasn’t the usual smart girl, wasn’t it?

“I am responsible.” She admitted proudly. “At least that is what everyone says.”

I nodded and started to adjust myself, moving to free some space in the bench by sitting on it now. 

She didn’t flinch at my actions, merely backing a little away to give me space to move and… she quietly took a seat on the newly-freed spot. She turned to look at me the moment she was done, waiting for me to speak, to explain her what she wanted to know.

What is Philosophy, Haruno?

“Let’s see...” I found myself having a little trouble in formulating a brief description of the subject that had long preceded Science. It was right in that moment that a pink petal fell right on my lap.

Oh? I turned to look around and I spotted few Sakura trees nearby. What an interesting discovery-

The little girl tugged at my sleeve once more, this time a some veiled irritation at my slow process of composing an answer.

“Do you find Sakura trees pretty?” A simple question, one that seemed to surprise the child a little as her eyes widened just a small fraction.

“The Sakura trees?” I nodded at the repetition and she hummed again. “I do.”

“Do you know why you do find them pretty?” She opened her mouth, feeling that she had the answer- the child stopped, her mouth closing quickly as she slowly realized that she had no idea why she found them pretty.

At least, not on the spot. How do I know that? Because this very question that ushered me to follow the road that had reached its zenith with my current work and I could remember clearly being this little arrogant.

Knowledge is power, but stupidity is something that easily mixes with it. You may be smart, but you will never be ever-knowing.

“I...- it’s because the color?”

“That is one of the many reasons.” I conceded with a nod. “And after that?”

Her face scrunched a little as she thought about it.

“It looks nice when the wind moves some of the branches?”

I nodded, gesturing her to continue.

“A-And because its petals fluttering around look so carefree?”

I nodded again, this time being the last as I decided to finish this brief parenthesis.

“I think we can finish this bit there.” I let out a small smile. “What did you do here?”

The moment her eyes averted away from me I knew that she was realizing that this boring lesson was much more than she had ever experienced. 

“I...” She hummed again, trying to formulate something out from the details given. “I looked at the Sakura tree a-and-”

The girl was unable to finish that sentence as she was still unaware of the right words to use in this situation. “And you studied it.” I concluded for her.

She nodded, thankful that I wasn’t going to give her unnecessary pressure in that simple lesson and I decided to continue talking.

“You were not repeating something you found from a book, nor you were citing the words of someone else.” I paused a moment, then smiled again. “Using what was available to you, you managed to elaborate something true that pointed out the tree’s main reasons to be ‘pretty’.”

“That is...” She paused and leaned back on the bench. “Cool.”

I let out a small chuckle and she smiled at that. 

“Indeed. Philosophy can be pretty cool.”

Few moments of silence passed and she glanced once more my direction. “I… forgot to introduce myself.”

Another chuckle, another smile. “I think that is hardly an issue, young lady. But sure, do present yourself.”

“My name is Mirei.” She actually held her open palm stretched toward me.

I smiled and shook it with my own hand. “I am Haruno.”

The chi- _ Mirei _ nodded at the returning introduction but froze as she seemed to remember something.

“I-I think I was out for a little longer than usual and-” Jumping off the bench she bowed a little. “I am sorry, Haruno-san, but I have to return to my big brother.”

I waved her. “It is nothing. You should be careful to not worry your family, little one.”

She let out a giggled before she ran towards the playground I had first saw back when I entered the park.

Grasping my book and sighing at the incredibly interesting situation, I found myself less tired.

I blinked as I tried to understand how a simple talk could leave this much satisfied.

Maybe it was the fact the one I talked with was actually smart enough to not go overboard with her mannerism.

A child behaving better than most adults? Surprising, but not impossible.

After all, I had been a child myself and… I suppose it was interesting the reflection I had the chance of talking with.

Truly an interesting reflection.

(Small AN: Yes, that girl is one of Naki’s children.)


	4. Dissonance in Suspense

**(** **Dissonance in Suspense** **)**

Sunday is meant to be a day of absolute peace.

The pleasant chat I had with that kid back in the park was the unique sign that meant that today’s shift should have been a relatively calm one for me.

Little hopes that were never meant to survive the painful wall that is the world’s truth.

The wall had a name, a very important one to booth.

Nagachika Hideyoshi was… a weird individual to be near to.

His entire appearance, physical characteristics and clothes, were an ugly threat to everyone’s eyes and the young man knew that.

_ We need some eye-bleach here! _

Strolling cheerfully through the halls of the Clinic, it had been quite easy to spot the sore being of pure yellow, the few hints of black in his pants and jacket hardly decreasing the unholy effect he was causing with his mere present.

It was kind of surprising to know that this flamboyant individual was chief responsible for the PR section for both TSC and UF, but the deeds and bargains he had managed to conclude in the last five years were non-negligible and impressively balanced out his entire being.

The UN had been keen to consider embargoing Japan after the end of the Dragon War, an attempt to isolate the undeniable danger that the DOs posed to humanity by keeping it all contained inside the Home Island.

A stroke of luck, a flawless sense of diplomacy and insane stunts of statesmanship proved that the cheerful man that is Nagachika-san to be much more than he showed.

An intriguing case of lazy genius that had kept the rest of the world on its toe.

But this whole presentation hardly conceptualized this individual and the following situation further increased my confusion over his paradoxical existence.

After solving quickly two cases of common relationship building, I was facing the humanized sunshine in person and I was trying to make sense of the whole scene.

The young man nodded once he entered, didn’t wait to be greeted back as he took one of the seats and… he was alone.

Hopefully (And I mean  **hopefully** ), he is not trying to get a therapist’s visit from… a not-therapist.

Headache? Is that you calling for me?

“ Good morning, Nagachika-san.”

“ Satoshi-san, I have heard good things about you.” What a curious… way to start a discussion. It was also quite distracting the fact his voice was partly muffled, the small mouth-mask holding back some sound from reaching out as he was speaking.

“ Truly?” The curt question was met by an energetic nod. 

“ Yes. I heard that you are renowned in solving complex issue in record times and I would need you to visit-” “I think there is a mistake, Nagachika-san.”

Whatever momentum the blond had tried to keep during his speech, it was quickly shattered by immediate halt as I found this whole request… fishy.

“ You said that you wish for me to ‘visit’ someone and that is… impossible.”

He blinked. “I am sure that with proper authorizations you could do something-”

“ You are misunderstanding, sir.” I interjected again, the confusion in his face growing the more I blocked his ill-planned attempt. “There is no such thing as an ‘authorization’ to ‘visit’ people. I am not a therapist.”

“ To-may-to, To-mah-to, Satoshi-san.” He waved off my refusal. “You still help people, you talk to them and-”

“ I think we are done for today.” At this point any warmth in my voice had long receded away, leaving just the cold exterior developed to deal with those kind of people.

“ W-What? But I paid-” 

“ You paid for a session of a consultant. We advise people, we don’t solve their inner struggles and I find your inherent carelessness about the whole protocol infuriating.”

He stood panicked for few moments, then started to follow me as I took my leave out of the office.

Misaki noticed the door opening and her eyes widened as she saw me being the one leaving.

“ S-Satoshi-hasake?” 

“ I am taking a small pause, Misaki-san. Please notify to the director that Nagachika Hideyoshi-san is no more accepted in the services of the Clinic.”

“ W-What?” I felt a hand squeezing on my shoulder. “S-Satoshi-san, I didn’t meant to sound too much forceful, but I just-”

“ Wanted to get a therapist.” I shrugged his hand off of me. “And this cannot be tolerated anymore because of what had happened recently.”

Some clients that had been there few days ago and Misaki flinched at the mere reminder of the… accident.

While it had been relatively common for people to confuse ‘therapist’ with ‘consultant’, there had been several grave issues that had caused the need to increase the rules about this simple mistake.

At least that was until four days ago. I was busy with dealing with the usual clients at the time, but I distinctly remember hearing the shouts and yells, the commotion happening two rooms away from my office.

An old lady and her mentally-unstable son had planned to get a checkup and get some recipes for the medicines required to stabilize his conditions. 

The consultant in that room, I think it was Madino-san, had been calm in explaining the mistake the two had done but… the young man took the explanation as a patronizing act against him and his mother.

Madino-san had been lucky to have seen the glint of the blade in time, backing away just enough to avoid getting stabbed by a small switchblade knife.

The woman proceeded to shriek at the situation, frozen as her son continued with his murderous attempts to make the man in front of him suffer.

There are four security guards per hallway and the entire group had heard the loud shriek from the woman, opening the door right by the time the youth was about to land the killing blow on the older man.

A taser was shot quickly, hitting the unsuspecting aggressor in the back and fully stunning him away from finishing the job.

Madino was a good friend of the director and, while he had been clear that he wouldn’t denounce the Clinic, the chief in charge of this activity quickly provided a response for this situation.

Detailed fliers were now given together with the form for appointments and it was strongly worded the section regarding the differences between Consultant and Therapist.

What Nagachika-san was doing, by completely disregarding the content and the rules of this establishment, was increasing the chances of getting someone confused over this work and… creating an endless circle of idiocy.

Idiocy that could kill if left unchecked.

Finally the secretary nodded, nervously writing down an email for the big boss as I continued to walk towards the exit of the building while still being followed by the annoying blond.

His voice went unheard as I continued to pace myself out of the place and into the streets and… he was still trying to reach for me.

_ It would seem that a drastic measure is required… _

While I hardly consider myself a professional runner, I am quite religious in doing my early morning exercises and… 

**On your feet soldier, we are leaving!**

I snorted at the voice’s comeback with Captain Price’s quote.

_ Couldn’t you be less unoriginal? _

**It’s Captain Price, jackass, and he will always be original!**

I blitzed through the crowd of people, trying to lose the pest behind me. 

Once I reached the corner of the road, I turned to the left and then to the right.

The following few minutes were a mad chase which saw several quick corner-turning, glancing behind once in a while to estimate how much distance I was putting between Nagachika and me.

Breath labored and legs aching just a little, I was glad by the time I had reached the small market-shop in the 20th Ward.

**We managed to run through an entire Ward! Are you sure we aren’t the secret son of Usain Bolt?**

One of my eyes was twitching in annoyance at the commentary, but I was too tired to elaborate a reply.

I needed to… drink something. Without wasting time, I reached for the beverages’ section of the shop and stared in relief at the fresh tin can of Cola.

I was about to turn and walk to the counter when I felt footsteps approaching and my eyes widened as I looked at whom it was-!

\-------------------d-d-d-d-d--------------------d-d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d----------

It was a quiet afternoon in Tokyo and the small group formed by Touka Kaneki (née Kirishima), Ayato and Hinami was finishing a small trip for some groceries.

“ I still don’t understand why you joined up.” The eldest of the trio stated with some minor annoyance. “You could have gone around to have some long-deserved fun.”

“ You know I would never let you over-burden yourself, Touka-nee.” The Fueguchi elbowed her boyfriend. “Right, Ayato-kun?”

The younger Kirishima, while not an expert in social situations, was quite sure he caught Hinami’s message clearly. “Y-Yeah. We wouldn’t want you to tire yourself too much, Aneki.”

Touka huffed. “You make ‘groceries’ sound like some difficult task.” Still she smiled warmly. “But I am happy that you both are kind enough to help me around if I need to.”

The two youngsters nodded and tried to not show any reaction to the ‘small task’ the pregnant woman had just finished to accomplish.

The food and general products that the cashier was still continuing to process after almost ten minutes of being there were enough to satisfy an entire army for a whole month and…

It was the pregnancy.

Hinami was quite unable to grasp why Touka craved human food even though her Ghoulish nature rejecting it. She still ate it with pleased and without her body actually refusing the poisonous treats.

A strong woman, but an odd one when with baby.

“ Still I am quite glad that you both are enjoying some more time together.” The woman continued to smile. “I suppose that you just needed a third point of view on the matter.”

“ Surprisingly enough, yes.” Ayato replied bluntly, his whole perspective about the session with the consultant quite difficult to fully gauge. While he had felt uncomfortable by the fact he had to explain to someone his private matters and had to listen to his theory was kind of annoying, but then again his words had revealed to him about something he had foolishly ignored.

To think he could have taken some vacation all those years and- No, it is not the time to remember the lost chances.

Now it was time to focus on the present and the future.

“ Satoshi-san was quite professional.” The brunette giggled. “I have never seen Ayato-kun this much tame when dealing with someone who think differently from him.”

The male Kirishima flushed in embarrassment, his temper being something both women knew so much about and one of the few flaws he was still working on even now.

“ But if you had such a positive reaction with this ‘Satoshi-san’ then why didn’t you switch with him for the rest of the sessions?”

A good question, the young couple thought at the same time with some embarrassment.

It had been the first thing they had wanted to do after the first meeting, but then… they gave a look at the document to officially ask to the Clinic to change Consultants and-

It was a complex piece of bureaucracy. 

Ayato had seen several papers that Bakaneki would bring home from work and those barely reached the level of difficulty this simple file had.

Hours were spent trying to study it and, after giving their best to find a solution to most of the points, they decided to put aside this situation until they could have gotten hand on someone capable of deciphering the mess of words.

“ We are actually thinking about that and-” Hinami froze mid-explanation, her nose catching a familiar scent. The two Kirishimas shared a worried look as the brunette’s eyes widened.

“ Something wrong, Hinami-chan?” The Fueguchi shook her head, their worries decreasing just a little. “Then what did you ‘catch’?”

‘ Catch’ was the kinder and less crass way to address her capacity to perceive scents with her sensible nose.

“ I think-” She slowly walked to look through the aisles and then she stopped. “Ayato-kun, look!”

The young man didn’t hesitate a moment to rush to see what had gotten his girlfriend this excited.

He looked and… he blinked.

_ What the heck? _

Standing few meters away from them, staring at a tin can of a soda drink, was the very consultant that they had the chance to talk with a week earlier.

It didn’t take long for Hinami to break out from that surprised reaction, Touka poking at her arm. “What is going on, Hinami-chan?” The woman looked at the man and noticed that he was wearing formal clothes. “Do you two know him?”

Ayato nodded. “That is Satoshi-san, but why is he in the 20th Ward?”

This question fell deaf on the brunette’s ears as she pulled her boyfriend by the sleeve of his shirt. “H-Hey, Hina-”

But the Kirishima didn’t have the time to speak further as the human finally noticed their presence.

“ Oh? Kirishima-san, Fueguchi-san.”

They both nodded. “Satoshi-san, it’s good to see you.” Hinami returned the greeting with a smile.

Finally Touka decided to intercede inside the small reunion. “So you are the consultant that helped my surrogate sister and dumb brother?” She ignored the gloomy reaction from Ayato as the human nodded with a brief smile. “Kaneki Touka.”

“ Satoshi Haruno, and-” He paused with a small hum. “They were both quite close to blows I do reckon but… I think you are already following my advice?”

“ It was kind of hard to ignore the chance of getting some rest.” The only man in the trio muttered. “But I think I appreciate the time I get to spend with Hinami-chan.”

Haruno smiled and nodded. “That’s good to hear and… I’m sorry, am I holding you back? I think the cashier had finished there.”

Turning around, Hinami ‘eeped’ as the cashier had indeed concluded the monumental task and was waiting to be paid. “I-I will go and see if-”

“ _ We _ will both go and pay, Hinami.” Touka stated resolutely, giving a quick nod at the human’s direction to bid a quick retreat for the task as the two men continued to speak together.

\------------------------d-d-d-d-d-----------------------d-d-d-d-------------------d-d-d-d-----------------

**I want to punch his face.**

_ Say what? _

**Dunno. I just wanna punch him dead.**

…

Now that was a curious reaction from the voice. 

It had never happened to hear it go this much violent-craving against a relatively new acquaintance. It was… odd.

“ If I may ask, what got you buying something at this hour, Satoshi-san?”

**The need to kick you between your legs-**

“ I-I was trying to get a pause from job.” I stated with a little stutter, the voice being as crass as usual. “Been having lots to think about.”

“ I hope nothing terrible.” He seemed relieved when I shook my head negatively. It wasn’t something truly terrible, just horribly scary but… nothing too much.

**This is so fucking ironic.**

_ Ironic?  _

**It’s best that you discover it by yourself.**

What was it talking about?

**Sometimes we need to be brought back from the fake niceties and you, my poor devil, you are in for a rude awakening pretty soon.**

“ Is everything alright?” I blinked back in reality and I felt my headache growing stronger by the second.

“ I-I think- I-”  **Thud**

“ Satoshi-san!-” I could feel his arm pulling away from fully falling, but my consciousness was slipping so quickly.

“ **You know what? I will spare you.”**

_ W-What? _

“ **I will spare you…** _ **so I can kill you once more when you are ready to accept death** _ **.”**


	5. Reversing the Repeat

**(** **Reversing the Repeat** **)**

I woke up with a curious case of body’s soreness. None of the usual headaches that prelude the beginning of some mad chat with-

** Hehehehehehehehe, Good Morning! **

...Shit.

** Aw, come on! It’s not like I am that  _ terrible _ . **

My eyes snapped open at the sight of a ceiling different than the one back home, a pale blue, and I tried to repress the growing unholiness within my poor skull as-

My trail of thought died down as I noticed two hands holding two familiar pills and a glass of water in front of me, a gruff voice picking up my surprise-induced hesitation. “Take them, I don’t have all day.”

Rolling my eyes I adjusted myself in this… couch? Why was I in a couch?

** It does remind that funny Casting Couch back in that  _ funny _ website- **

I popped the pills in my mouth and sipped at the liquid to help those down my throat. I blinked as I raised my stare up and I saw a very familiar man. While I had already stated more than once that my job hardly worked in parallel with doctors, I was still able to recognize the important man giving me the driest and dullest glance ever.

Nishiki Nishio and his wife were the responsible for the breakthroughs for Ghoul’s synthetic food in the last five years, making major leaps for the whole scientific community. My eyes widened just a little and Nishio-san seemed to understand what was going on inside my brain.

He stared away, his attention shifting at the small medical bag sitting by the second chair near the long couch, the first being used by the Ghoul currently sitting on it. “You got a close call with the condition you got.” He took out a small pill bottle, unfamiliar and yet somehow I could swear I had seen it before. “Did you take any of those pills recently- Actually, have you even taken any of those ever since you got those prescribed?” I perceived some annoyance, sternness, but I was completely clueless about whatever the doctor was talking about.

I slowly picked the bottle and turned it to see its name- “I-I was told this was to be taken only if I did sports or other activities that could worsen my conditions?”

He blinked, trying to see if this was a lie or not and sighed tiredly as he closed the bag. “Your doctor is an utter moron. Your body is very frail as of now because of how untreated your scars are, I would suggest you do not forget to take those after today.”

I nodded and he stood up with the bag and walked right by the half-closed door- Actually where was I? I had completely forgot to ask this to Nishio-san and I was quite confused to whom might have ‘taken me in’ as my memories prior to falling unconscious were… fragmented.

Sighing calmly, I relaxed my head on the pillow which I had woken up with and tried to slowly draw some conclusion by this very embarrassing and confusing situation without worsening my state of mind.

…

…

Nothing. I could think of literally no one in Tokyo that would actually do something like this for me and yet I felt like I was missing something obvious in this senseless jigsaw. I perked as I felt the door finally opening and revealing…

“Satoshi-san.” The kind and calm voiced owned by Hinami Fueguchi was something that I had hardly expected to hear this soon and then… it all returned to mind.

As Ayato and the brunette took a seat in the couch in front of the one I was occupying, I remembered the mad run and getting to the super-market to get something to drink. I blinked as I contemplated that this situation was truly surreal.

A consultant being this much ‘familiar’ with his own clients? That was highly-frowned upon for ethical reasons. Plus it was plainly weird and quite unheard off. “Kirishima-san, Fueguchi-san.”

“Nishik- _ Nishio _ -san told us that you are going to need a place to stay for a good day.” The young man stated calmly, I could feel some curiosity and surprise at this very development. Of course, the doctor hadn’t told them about my ‘conditions’, something like that was confidential with the patient and I was entitled to some privacy.

Still the fact I was supposedly going to spend a full day away from work and stuck in that relatively small couch was… annoying. “I-I suppose I will have to call-” “Oh no, you misunderstood, Satoshi-san.”

I stared at the Fueguchi, her smile somehow… hiding something. Something unpleasant for me.

“We will be more than happy to give you shelter today as we hardly use much of the apartment and...” She softly elbowed her partner. “ _ We _ don’t mind.”

I glanced at Ayato and gave him a sympathetic look as I knew that he hardly could do much about it. He noticed and nodded with a sad hint, the whole interaction somehow missing the brunette’s attention. 

“I-If I am truly not intruding… then I suppose I could stay there.”

The reply instantly cheered up the young woman, prompting her to clap her hand together. “Then I suppose I should start cooking something!”

The words brought major distress in the Kirishima, his face a window to the inner struggle. I frowned, trying to understand what could be wrong if the girl wanted to cook something now.

It was lunch-time if the clock attached to the wall behind them was right.

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The only word that could describe the sudden realization that I should have paid more attention to the man’s uneasy attitude prior to accept the kind offer of cooking me something was regret. There was no way I could digest the amalgamation boiling in the small white plate in front of me.

I had been helped in moving out of the couch and to walk to the dining room, the smaller room connected to the even smaller kitchen as Hinami hummed happily as she went to start the process she deemed to be cooking.

If there was a God in this world, he had seriously left that room in that moment as I was graced with the greatest tragedy humanity had ever suffered. My nose was picking up eggs and yet the overall color of the food was purple.

_ How do you get purple eggs? _

Trying to understand the object that seemed to have been created by Dr. Seuss, I tried to find help in the very individual that had called out the whole predicament with his panicking but… he was there, smiling forcefully as he glanced briefly at the happy-looking Hinami, the girl waiting for me to pick the first bite.

I stared down again at the abomination and gulped nervously as I slowly took the fork in my shaky hands. I wasn’t shaking for the scars’ issue, the fear of whatever reaction to a refusal it would warrant on my person.

While I knew I would be incredibly saddened to see a disheartened Fueguchi, my real problem was the graceful pummeling the Kirishima was going to cause on my poor body if I reacted ‘wrongly’ at the kind act.

I poked at the strange object, trying to discern more of its strange nature and then I picked a piece of it in the piece of cutlery. Bringing it close to my mouth, I could already smell something rancid inside the visibly-poisonous dish and yet-

I committed for a terrible cause. My mouth tried to dry down at the sudden foul taste, begging for me to spit it out as I started to grind it on my teeth. It was gummy, very sticky and incredibly disgusting.

Memories of certain videos made by Filthy Frank were starting to resurface, akin to a prophecy unfolding before me- or better -inside of my mouth. 

Finally, trying to find solace in every and any deity existing with my silent prayers, I gulped it all down. 

“I-I-It’s _ good! _ ” I closed my mouth immediately as I could feel my stomach dying the moment the purple thing reached it. Rebellion for the betrayal I had been forced to accomplish upon my poor soul.  I was crying, the tears easily mistaken by the girl as tears of joy.

The smile in Hinami’s face widened while Ayato seemed to  t ense as I slowly  put my head on the table, trying to find relief in the cool texture of it. “Truly? Then I guess following Touka-nee’s teachings is finally bringing results!” Without further words being said, she left for the kitchen for God knows what.

The fellow man finally broke away from his pseudo-impassive stance and approached my dying self. “You alright there.”

I tilted my head in his direction, giving him the most hateful of glares and muttered two good words that showed how much I cared for his  _ concern _ .

“F-Fuck you.” Screw consequences in bad mouthing the worried lover of that cooking disaster of a brunette!

After that I conceded defeat at the mysterious dish of doom, faking unconsciousness as the girl returned with two more plates, one a strange green marshmallow-y mass and the other with something very burned.

Regret. Regret. Regret.

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Safely back in the couch, I didn’t waste time in addressing a situation I had forgotten to solve prior to lunch. 

Calling back at work I was answered by a panicking Misaki, her voice showing how much of a mess she had turned after I spent a day MIA. Relief washed over her as she recognized my voice, but I could have been happier without dealing with the following minor interrogation the secretary pushed forward.

What happened? Where was I? How was I? Why didn’t I call before? 

I was touched by the care but I was quick to reply to any of those with curt answers, unwilling to prolong a simple call for too long and waste too much money on the phone. Managing a last ‘bye’ I closed the half-an-hour long chat and proceeded to relax a little in the couch. A day off work was something I had not planned, especially with a short day.

After noticing my collapse, a panicking brunette had quickly dragged me back in the living room and had started to think of calling again for Nishio-san. I had to ‘thank’ Ayato for having reacted in time and prevented her from doing such thing.

I think I have already left a bad impression with the man and I hardly wanted to worsen that up more than it was now. Still my attempt to nap was interrupted as the doorbell rang through the whole flat, bringing a calmer Hinami to see who it was.

A small squeal was met with a bigger, Fueguchi-like one and I frowned as I glanced at Ayato. The young man had taken a seat in the couch he and his girlfriend had used until she had to check something in their room. He was reading a… comic? I think it was Marvel, Iron-man when he turned to glance at towards the direction of the entrance.

Suddenly I heard footsteps approaching and then- “Ayato-jichan!”

A little child emerged to the sight, rushing at the Kirishima, the man now smiling as he picked the little girl up. “Ichika-chan, did you get taller since I last saw you?!”

Ichika giggled and went to hug her uncle warmly. “Am I taller?”

Ayato tilted his head childishly and hummed. “Maybe… or maybe you got prettier?”

She giggled again, enjoying the flattering compliments without much of a deeper understanding behind the silly logic I was witnessing. I mean, she was what? Five? I doubt that one her age (excluding the rare cases like Mirei) would want to do that. It was  _ un _ funny.

It was few moments later that little Ichika turned her light-gray eyes onto me, curiosity sparking instantly at the sight of me being relegated to the couch.

Slowly she jumped off her uncle’s lap and approached me calmly and silently. She was interested to know who I was and why I was here, but she was shy enough to not ask immediately. Thus, taking a little lead I gave her a reassuring smile.

“Hello.”

She blinked, a little smile appearing at the greeting. “Hello!” Her vibrant voice was… moderate, an acceptable level compared to many of her peers’ usual levels.

“My name is Satoshi  Haruno, what is the name of this pretty girl?” Ayato frowned but I winked his way while the child blushed at the compliment from a complete stranger until now. Her smile widened and her previous tension vanished at my words as she introduced herself.

“My name is Kaneki Ichika!”

“Oh?” I nodded at her. “Nice to meet you, Ichika-chan.”

She giggled and accepted the open palm I offered her, giving it a quick shake as she playful glanced at me. I was a new individual that was behaving quite ‘funny’ in her perspective, similar to how her uncle behaved.

“Ichika-chan? What are you doing, sweetie?”

I glanced by the doorstep and saw him. He was around my height, maybe a little bit taller, but he appeared pretty much normal in his overall appearance. Except his strange white-hair.

Actually now that I noticed it, Ichika had a strange gradient of black and white. It was unnatural, something a normal human was capable of achieving as white hair were mostly caused by stress-induced traumas.

...Okay, now I was worried  a little .  About what? Well, what kind of situations might have caused this weird hair coloration?

The new individual took notice of my staring and looked embarrassed a moment. “I am sorry, I hope Ichika didn’t disturb you and-”

“Actually we were just discussing about how pretty she was. Ayato-san started that tho.”

Another bout of giggles and the ‘uncle’ snorted as the white-haired man nodded with a smile.

“Kaneki Ken.” He approached the couch and extended his open palm to me, which I met with my own hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Satoshi Haruno, the pleasure is mine.”

We shook hand and the little girl started to do something curious. Reaching for the end of my clothes, she tried to climb up my chest and, while her father seemed to be hesitant about the whole thing, I helped her up as her weight hardly mattered as she sat on my body.

She smiled as she looked down at my face. “Are you alright?”

Aw, she is concerned? But isn’t that a little bit late now?

“I am super-fine.” I nodded determined. “You are super-light.”

She giggled again and soon a calmer Kaneki took a seat with Ayato and Hinami on the opposite couch as I entertained the little child with some fairy tales and all.

While I might have been able to do something like this in a normal circumstance as my mind was hardly fit to deal with children for too long, I was in a relative good mood.

Maybe today wasn’t going to end in a bad note as I had expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will extend the day. We reached post-lunch and there are some scenes planned for the… ‘nighttime’. (Nothing Lemony, not even close).

**Author's Note:**

> You love it? You like it? Do leave some Kudos and some comments! I want to hear ya all!


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